I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start for all of you. My name is Samuel, and I will be taking over the Communications position from Catherine Van Halsema, with whom many of you interacted last year. I am pleased to announce and invite your submissions for the 6thannual IU German Theater Project. The festival date will be on Saturday, April 20.

Many of you have attended previously and are quite familiar with the submissions process; others may be participant for the first time. We ask that all groups, both new and experienced, observe the following guidelines for submission:

· The final deadline for submissions is Wednesday, March 20.

· Submissions may not portray murder or extreme violence of any kind.

· Blooper reels are not allowed.

· Submissions are limited to a maximum of 4 per school.

· Videos may not exceed 10 minutes.

We are currently in the process of updating our website, but in the meantime, I would like to inform you all of a change to the competition categories. From now on, we shall be using the categories Comedy and Drama. For students who are unsure of what this means, we prepared the following explanation:

“A comedy has a light-hearted story that is meant to move the audience to laughter or smiling. This category includes parody and satire. A drama is not necessarily more "serious" than a comedy, but the emotions of the story are meant to connect with or move the audience. The ending may be happy or sad, but the tone of the story must be sincere (i.e. it isn't making fun of the events within the story or its characters).

Some quick "litmus" tests:

If your story includes special effects or sudden plot changes in order to create laughter, then it is a comedy. If a character dies or disappears in your story and this creates laughter, then your story is a comedy. If your story portrays strong, unironic emotions (example: students sincerely frustrated with the difficulty of learning German prepositions), then it is a drama.”

We are incredibly excited to be working with all of you, and we cannot wait to see your submissions for this year. As more information comes out regarding the workshops for students and accompanying staff, I be sending out more emails. I look forward to corresponding with all of you.

Furthermore, I will be serving as the main contact person up to and on the day of the festival. Please feel free to contact me in the meantime by email (at this email address) with any questions. As the festival gets closer, I will be giving you all my cell phone number, where you will be able to reach me via phone or text.

"The IUPUI Max Kade German-AmericanCenter to invite you to attend a workshop conducted by the engaging applied linguist, Dr. Brenna Byrd, as she presents techniques for using social media in the German Foreign Language classroom to develop student intercultural awareness and communication.

Please join us on Saturday, January 26, from 9am - 2pm at the IUPUI Campus Center (rm. 307) for this practical workshop. Morning refreshments and lunch are provided. Validation tickets for parking in the Vermont Street Garage are also available.

There is no fee for this "Wunderbar Together" event thanks to the generous support from the Federal Republic of Germany and the IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center.

Tomorrow,Wednesday, October 24, IGHS and the IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center will present a program given by Dr. Wolfgang Grams of Oldenburg, Germany--"German Heritage in Indiana".

This will be held in theDamenverein Room at the Athenaeum from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Following the presentation a reception will follow hosted by the IUPUI Max Kade German American Research and Resource Center.

This is a return to Indianapolis for Dr. Grams whose first trip to the U.S. was to Indianapolis a number of years ago. He is looking forward to returning to our city. We hope that you will be able to attend this event to learn more about local German heritage from the perspective of a citizen of Germany who is a specialist in emigration.

Parade

The Year of German-American Friendship Kick-off Parade is free for participants and spectators. The Parade is on Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 1:00pm. It starts on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis and finishes at the Athenaeum "Das Deutsche Haus" on Michigan Avenue where there is a post-parade celebration open to all.

Theattachmentcontains a press release from Herr Dr. Andreas Goetze, the Deputy Consul General, with some additional information about these festivities.

We hope that you will take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend and support these activities occurring in Indianapolis on the first weekend in October.

IU - German Theater Project

2018 IU German Theater Project for High Schools Newsletter Report -

The fifth annual IU German Theater Project for High Schools culminated in our most attended ever festival that took place Saturday, 14 April on the Bloomington campus. 73 students and nine instructors from ten different high schools attended the daylong festival that included tailored workshops for the high school students lead by IU Germanic Studies own graduate students and two workshops for the high school instructors entitled Flavor your School Theater Production with Abtönungspartikeln! lead by the IUB German Language Coordinator, Susanne Even and Using German Figures of Speech in the Classroom co-taught by Juliane Wuensch and Bettina Christner. The project sponsored and supported by the Max Kade Foundation, IU Department of Germanic Studies, IU College of Arts and Sciences, the German Embassy, IU Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), and IU Center for the Study of Global Change, was directed by a committee composed of Germanic Studies graduate students, the department’s fiscal officer, Jill Giffin, and Senior Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator, Troy Byler. During the last academic year, Indiana high schools were asked to record live performances of their German students based on original or adapted scripts. We received 24 submissions from eleven schools throughout the entire state of Indiana. The committee then selected the top two in each category and presented them at the end of the festival. The audience then voted for their favorites. The committee also handed out awards for Outstanding Acting, Outstanding Use of German, and Best Costume. Winners received book awards, classroom board games, and framed certificates. The website will be updated with the winning submissions available for viewing: www.indiana.edu/~german/theaterproject

After the award ceremony, participants answered some evaluation questions using the same classroom clickers they used to vote for the winners. We received immediate positive reactions. The high school instructors shared with us:

“My students LOVE this event every year. This was our fourth year attending (I had two girls attending for the fourth time!) and it just keeps getting better! Thank you so much to everyone at IU who puts in so much work to make this a success!”

“It was wonderful seeing all the familiar and many new faces. Thank you for your hard work organizing this amazing day. The students had a lot of fun. Vielen Dank.”

“I am so glad we were able to participate this year. I really enjoyed spending my day with you all. Vielen herzlichen Dank!”

“Dear Colleagues and Theaterprojekt Organizers! Thanks for a wonderful day. Hope to see everyone next year! Viele liebe Grüße”

81% of the students mentioned that they learned something new in their workshops and 89% would recommend the German Theater Project to other classmates.

Our own College of Arts and Sciences is impressed with our project’s ability to integrate language learning and teaching from high school to the graduate level. Integral to our continued success has

been the willingness and passion that our graduate students have brought to the designing and leading of the festival workshops.

Again, are hope is to continue to build the IU German Theater Project for High Schools as a traditional annual event and eventually hit our maximum of 100 participants at the festival in subsequent years. Outreach programs like these serve a crucial role for advocacy of German language and cultural instruction at all levels. For more information about next year’s project submissions and festival, please check the website above or contact Troy Byler at tbyler@indiana.edu.

New Map of State of Indiana German Teachers

Hello to all of you K-12 Indiana German Instructors,

In an effort to strengthen communication and advocacy for German language instruction in Indiana, I have compiled the data from the IDOE on who and where German is being taught in our state and have attempted to fill in the missing information in order to assemble a map for all of you to use. I will need your help to keep it up to date and accurate. If you move to a different school, retire, or if the current version needs editing, please let me know. Also, if you prefer not to have your name and/or email address included in the map, please let me know and I will remove it. If you have a German teaching colleague that is not on the map, please let me know as well. I am not openly publishing or distributing this map; it is only viewable with the link below. I hope that you can use it as a tool to get in touch with other German instructors and help strengthen your program.

Description – A documentary about the Be-troit Project by Philip Halver. Olad Aden, Veniece Session and young artists in person for a performance and Q & A.

Be-troit Performance Poetry. This project between Detroit and Berlin is an international exchange literature project with a focus on contemporary performance poetry. It takes up impulses of poetry, Spoken Word, Slam Poetry and Rap from Detroit and Berlin. Building on specific local traditions these art forms mix literature, music, dance and visual arts.

The project initiates active poetic encounters of artists from Detroit and Berlin. Styles of performance poetry from Detroit connect with and confront current trends and developments within the German speaking poetry scene, generating new forms of literature in the process. The focus is on reconfigurations and contextualization, language games and the interpretation of signs and language. The project aims to reconsider translation as a cultural stimulus, as an attitude to deal with the other, the stranger and one’s self.

Just as Berlin was regarded as the subcultural capitol of the world some 15 or 20 years ago, you can feel a certain energy when you travel to Detroit these days. It is a place where devastation is visible and alongside of it there are opportunities. Opportunities for artists, activists and resistance movements to help turn the city into the magnificent place it could be to make things better for all of its residents.

This year the Indiana Chapter of AATG will host their annual immersion day on September 9th in Terre Haute, Indiana. AATG members from all states are invited to join us for this fantastic opportunity at the member rate.

We will begin at the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center. A light breakfast will be available at the museum at 9:30 am followed by an interactive lecture with Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of Mengele’s twin experiments, subject of the upcoming documentary “Eva,” and author of the book “Die Macht des Vergebens.”

After lunch on the Indiana State University campus, we will consider how that past influences Germany’s role in the refugee crisis. German society is undergoing major changes with the absorption of thousands and thousands of refugees over the past few years. The media is saturated with stories, both pro and con, about this crisis. How can this topic best be integrated into current “Multi-Kulti” units? This workshop will offer suggestions, information, ideas, and strategies for creating activities. Participants will leave this immersion event with classroom-ready materials.

The block of rooms at SpringHill Suites is no longer available. However, I just discovered teachers are eligible for the “state employee rate” at the hotel. This rate is about $91!

Anyone interested in touring the CANDLES Museum is encouraged to arrive early on Friday. The museum will be open until 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon, and Walter Sommers, a witness of the Holocaust and refugee from Germany, will lead a discussion at the museum at 1 pm. For those in town Indiana AATG will also host an optional movie night at the location to be determined in Terre Haute at 7 pm. Transportation for those who would prefer not to drive to the location will leave the hotel at 6 pm and return later in the evening. Terre Haute will also be hosting the “Blues at the Crossroads” festival on Friday and Saturday, so there is plenty to enjoy!

Each year we receive many applications from students who have been so impacted by their study of German in high school or a visit to Germany as part of an exchange program that they wish to attend college in Germany. This is why we are reaching out to you and inviting you to contact us if you or your students will be coming to Berlin this summer. Read on for further information on our programs and campus in Berlin.

I would be grateful if you could share this information with interested students and would be happy to send printed brochures or posters upon request.

Will you or your students be passing through Berlin this summer? Contact us to schedule an individual campus tour, a group visit to campus, or to see if one of our professors can offer a lecture for your students on a topic related to Berlin.

my name is Helmut Brake and I am an English teacher and head of the English department at the Otto Hahn Gymnasium in Nagold, Germany.

We used to have quite a successful Exchange programm with an American High School in Tempe, Arizona. It definitely was successful as we had it running for 22 years and simply had to stop because my American colleague went into retirement. Since then we have tried a couple of things but so far nothing has really worked. That's why I contacted the Goethe Institute in New York who passed my on to the ATTG website.

We are desperately looking for an American Exchange partner and that's why I wrote a little portray of our school. As I don't really know how your mailing or discussing list works , I would like to ask you to pass my request to as many members of ATTG as possible.

The Otto Hahn Gymnasium in Nagold is a well-established high school
situated in the Black Forest, Germany. The school consists of a student
body of about 1 200 Students, ages 10 - 18 years, from Grades 5 - 12.
The Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium - distinguishes itself by an open and lively
atmosphere, we are able to offer the students many opportunities: early
on, they can specialise in subjects like Music, Science or Languages.
Beyond the classroom students can join and participate in a wide range of
extra Mural Activities. Music plays a significant role in the life of the
school with many Clubs to choose from.

Some of the Clubs and Societies at the School include;
Choir, Chamber Choir, Orchestra - in co-operation with the Nagold Music
School, Chamber Music Ensemble, Junior Big Band, Senior Big Band, Brass
Instrument Class. The senior choir “Vokalensemble” has been nationally and
internationally recognised.

We believe that an Exchange Programme has much to offer each participant.
So far we have successfully built up exchanges with France and Spain.
International partnerships can provide opportunities for students to
develop, practise and demonstrate new attitudes, skills and understandings
that not only enhance their educational experiences but introduce or deepen
a sense of culture, building awareness and understanding. .

Besides developing lifelong friendships, the students are exposed to a wealth of new experiences and cultures. Nagold is ideally situated as it is
close to the big towns of Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich, as well as to
the borders of Switzerland and France. Rolling hills, dense forests,
charming medieval towns, awe-inspiring castles, world-renowned university
towns, Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Ritter Sport chocolate factory… these are
only some of the things you will find in the close vicinity when you visit
the “Door to the Black Forest” in the northern part of the state of
Baden-Württemberg in Germany, the city of Nagold.

Spend a week this summer with colleagues learning, practicing, and sharing all things German! Whether you want to brush up on your language skills, perfect a unit for the classroom or simply earn college credit while having fun in an immersion setting, Deutsche Woche in Bar Harbor is for you.

This year's topic is Backwards Design and the ACTFL Standards. This course will focus on best practices in designing effective Interpersonal, Presentational, and Interpretive assessments which align with the ACTFL standards.

Please pass this info on to members in your chapter. If you have any questions about this amazing opportunity or the application process, please contact Sue Joy at looney@uninets.net. Deutsche Woche runs from July 30 to August 5. Application deadline is July 1 and application materials are linked below:

Andrew J. Koors, age 58 of Batesville, died Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at University Hospital in Cincinnati. Born May 13, 1958 in Batesville, he is the son of Gloria (Nee: Firsich) and James Koors. A teacher for 33 years with the Batesville School Corporation, he taught German at the high school. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council #1461, the Batesville Athletic Booster Club, Notre Dame Alumni Association, Cricket Ridge and a long time announcer of Batesville boys and girls basketball for WRBI.

Andy embraced his German heritage. He was a long time fixture at the annual Freudenfest in Oldenburg and apparently its’ unofficial mascot. For several years he was pictured on a billboard complete with his lederhosen. He enjoyed his students and teaching them to speak German as well as learning about German customs. According to his family, Andy was a good cook and liked going to Jungle Jim’s International Market regularly. Apparently he made something called Hell Fire Bean Dip that was so hot, it was legendary. His brother tried to make it, cutting the heat factor in half and said it was still barely edible. An avid golfer, he competed in several leagues and although not largely considered a sports fan by his family, Andy did like watching Notre Dame football and basketball. Other interests included photography and occasional visits to the Indiana Grand Casino.

He is survived by his sister Tress Zielinski of Batesville; brother Tony Koors of Indianapolis; nieces Kira Lentz, Kylie Koors, Kami Koors, all of Indianapolis and nephews Nicholas Koors of Parma Heights, Ohio, Benjamin Koors and E.J. Koors, both of Indianapolis. In addition to his parents, he is also preceded in death by his sister Tammy Koors.

Visitation is Friday, February 24th, from 4 – 7 p.m. at the funeral home.A rosary service will be held at 4 p.m. Funeral services are 11 a.m., Saturday, February 25th, at St. Louis Church with Rev. Stan Pondo officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family requests memorials to the Batesville Community Education Foundation Scholarship Fund.

SERVICES

Visitation

Friday, February 24, 20174:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Weigel Funeral Home151 W. George St. Batesville, Indiana 47006

Indy Area German Teacher workshop

This workshop for German teachers (high school and college level) will be held on Saturday, March 25 at IUPUI. All cost are covered by the IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center.Flyer Link

I would like to share some updates regarding the opportunities that I shared with you last month. Please have patience with us, for we are working through the details with administration, since most of these are new programs.

Opportunity 1 – Professional Development: Inaugural German Instructor Summer Program

Thank you to those who filled out the Surveymonkey questionnaire. The information that we collected is being used to create a program that best suits your needs and time table. Here is a summary of the latest:

-For this inaugural summer, the IUB Department of Germanic Studies will be paying for all of the accommodations in the Willkie Residence Hall (single bedroom with shared en suite bath with one other participant), all breakfast and lunches and at least one evening meal, and parking. All participants are required to stay in residence, since we are building a cohort and will also have a couple evening programs

-There will be a $100 fee to attend.

-There will be 36 hours of programing/contact time (professional development units)

-For additional tuition (in state graduate rates, approximately $1200), participants of the program may enroll in a 3 credit, German content course, which will be based on the experience + additional course work to be turned in during the fall: GER-G605 SPECIAL TOPICS TEACHING GERMAN

-Online enrollment form will be available soon. I will send out an email to everyone, when this becomes available.

One of our advanced PhD student and former German high school teacher, Michael Bryant, sent out an email last week with his contact information. He will be the one to get in touch with, when you have your submissions ready to be uploaded (Due date 8 March). Our new t-shirts are being made and the graduate students are busy designing some more great festival workshops for you and your students. http://www.indiana.edu/~german/theaterproject/

We are attempting to fast track our first on-line German Master’s course. Maybe this summer, but most likely in this coming fall, we hope to have this course available. We are planning to design and offer at least one additional course every subsequent semester and summer. Our goal is to offer at least 18 credit hours of courses at the Master’s level and potentially have an entire online MAT or MA in German. The course associated with the summer program in Opportunity 1 above (G605), will also count in future online MAT/MA degrees. I will email you with any updates that I receive concerning these courses and potential degree(s).

Please feel free to get in touch with me, if you have any questions. We would very much like to hit our maximum of 20 participants for this summer’s program. Also, share this message with other German instructors who have not made it to this email list and let me know too, so I can add them to subsequent emails.

The Germanic Studies Department at Indiana University Bloomington will offer a five-day long, on campus, professional development workshop tailored for K-12 teachers of German. In addition to the professional growth experience, there will be an option for participants to pay tuition for a three credit Germanic Studies graduate course that will count towards the new Higher Learning Commission accreditation. In order to help pilot this inaugural summer workshop, the department is able to cover the on-campus accommodations and most meals for up to 20 participants. If you are interested, please go to the following SurveyMonkey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5SR2QWF Your input is not binding and does not guarantee participation, but will be crucial in finalizing the details, so please answer truthfully.

Our fourth annual German Theater Project for High Schools festival will take place on the IU campus in Bloomington on Saturday, 8 April. We are now accepting your students’ submissions for the competition. All digitally recorded submissions received by 8 March will be eligible. Schools are allowed to submit multiple entries, and you are not required to be present at the festival in order to be eligible for prizes. So have your students send in their submissions, even if their spring break is during the festival date. Please visit our website for new uploading instructions: http://www.indiana.edu/~german/theaterproject/

We will invite groups of up to ten students from at least ten different Indiana high school German programs to present video recorded versions of their brief (no more than 10 minutes and 2GB) theatrical productions in German. Students can be in any level of German, but performances need to be in German with memorized roles. Individual students may also submit performed monologues.

• Awards will be given to the best performances in two categories, original and adaptive scripts. Remember, the quality of video production is not the winning criterion; rather it is the theatrical performance of the students that merits the awards. The committee will also select "Best Acting" and "Best Use of German" from all of the submissions.

• At the festival students will also participate in interactive workshops to hone their acting skills, German pronunciation, and dialect appreciation.

• Additionally, German teachers accompanying the students will participate in a new professional development workshop on theater and foreign language teaching.

• All participants at the festival will receive a free t-shirt, lunch and refreshments.

• Travel reimbursement for up to $150 per attending school will be available.

Our updated website contains previous years’ winners, and feel free to share the site with your students, administrators, and German instructor colleagues. We are currently having new t-shirts made and the graduate students are enthusiastically designing several different interactive student workshops for the festival.

We hope to have the first of potentially six on-line graduate courses up and running by this summer, which will be available through IUB’s Non-degree Program. We are designing the courses with the K-12 German instructor in mind. Our hope is to offer at least six courses (18 credits) needed for the new HLC accreditation, and possibly offer a complete on-line German MA in the future. Please contact Troy Butler if you are interested and he will keep you informed of all of the developments.

We have some exciting scholarship news to share with current and potential applicants of our Graz, Austria Program. We have just learned of a new scholarship opportunity from the IU Germanic Studies Department, and we also wanted to announce that we are extending our Registration deadline for our German learners to Sunday, December 4th. Registration takes no more than 20 minutes and should accompany an online payment of $15. The Application deadline remains December 11th, but special circumstances will be taken into consideration.

The NEW IU Germanic Studies Scholarship:
We are delighted to announce a new scholarship opportunity made available exclusively to participants in the IUHPFL Graz Program by the Indiana University Germanic Studies Department! For Summer 2017, each participant will receive an automatic $1,000 scholarship to be applied toward their IUHPFL Program Fees! Participants will also be invited to a special recognition reception in the new School of Global and International Studies on the IU Bloomington campus after the IUHPFL Orientation on April 23rd, 2017.

Max Kade Foundation Scholarship:
Additionally, three participants will be awarded the Max Kade Scholarship, based on their academic merit, which will provide them with an additional $1,000 to be applied toward their IUHPFL Program Fees. No application beyond the IUHPFL Application is required.

Indiana German Heritage Society (IGHS) Scholarship:

Participants should also consider applying for this scholarship before February 15th, 2017, which potentially awards $1,000 to IUHPFL students. Please visit this page for more information: http://www.ighs.org/Scholarship.html and call Professor Claudia Grossman at 317-274-3943 with any questions you might have.

IUHPFL Financial Assistance:

Every year, IUHPFL awards approximately $65,000-$70,000 to applicants, based on the FAFSA information they provide to our office prior to early February. Awards generally range between $250 and $1,500 for qualified applicants, according to their level of financial need.

We hope that this wonderful news will give each of you the assurance that cost does not have to be an obstacle for those students who want to participate in the IUHPFL Graz Program. These awards, in combination with students’ efforts in fundraising and seeking sponsorships, make this opportunity completely attainable for motivated students. We are excited to offer an outstanding language immersion experience to Indiana German learners in one of the most charming and beautiful regions of the world!

Certificates for 6 hours of PD awarded upon completion of the session.

Where:

Sister Cities of Louisville Office

620 South Third Street, Suite 100

Louisville, KY 40202

This will be an important one to catch as it will provide us with hands-on ideas for connecting to our community and promoting our programs. Angelika is an a well-known presenter and distinguished teacher. See her mini CV attached.

In spite of the name, we encourage Indiana teachers to register as well, as Angelika will include examples and ideas for all participants, not matter what state they teach in.

You can contact me if you have any further questions! We hope to see you there!

John

Ky Chapter AATG President

STARTING A GERMAN MINOR at PURDUE UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST!
(Hammond Campus)

Please let your students know about this opportunity.They only need 3 German upper level classes beyond Ger 202 (level 4) to get a minor.They can always take a placement test and possibly test out of a basic level class (and save time and money that way).

This is the new class we are offering in SPRING 2017:

Ger 365 - German Conversation: Break the ice through German small talk! Situational conversations! German small talk! Survival German!Skype conferences (Q&A) with your new German friends!Pattern practice, preparation and delivery of dialogues and topical talks. Introduction to basic phonetics and practice in pronunciation.

This exhibit is free and open to the public daily from 9-5. If you are interesting in visiting, please contact Marian University Art Gallery Director, Crystal Vicars-Pugh, 317-955-6664, cvicarspugh@marian.edu.

Giving Voices to Ghosts, highlights some of the pieces in the collection. Here is a link to the entire collection. After both world wars, American Friends Service Committee gave aid and food to starving children and pregnant women in Germany. As a Thank You, these beautiful artworks, poems, stories and letters were sent from those Children back to meetings in the States.